NFA takes emergency action against California CTA

NFA says firm made prohibited loans

National Futures Association (NFA) announced today that it has taken an emergency enforcement action against KS Global Strategies, Inc. (KS Global Strategies), a commodity pool operator (CPO) and commodity trading advisor (CTA) located in Larkspur, California, and its principal, Khaled Salama.

NFA has taken the Member Responsibility Action (MRA) and Associate Responsibility Action (ARA) to protect investors because NFA has reason to believe that KS Global Strategies and Salama have engaged in a tangled series of money transfers with affiliated entities and pools, which have ultimately resulted in at least $410,000 of prohibited loans being made to Salama and KS Global Strategies by commodity pools that they operated.

During the course of its investigation, NFA learned that KS Global Strategies and Salama arranged loans from one of the firm's commodity pools, the Sophia Fund, then funneled the loans through an affiliated fund (the Roosevelt Fund) to another pool, the KSGS Global Opportunities Fund, in an apparent attempt to conceal them. NFA Compliance Rule 2-45 prohibits loans from commodity pools to their CPOs.

KS Global Strategies and Salama are ordered to repay in full all existing direct and indirect loans or advance of pool assets to KS Global Strategies, Salama or any affiliated person or entity with 120 days of the issuance of the MRA. Additionally, KS Global Strategies and Salama are prohibited from soliciting or accepting any customer or pool participants funds until the loans are paid in full. They are also prohibited from disbursing or transferring any funds (other than to margin existing positions) from any customer and/or pool accounts without prior approval from NFA.

The MRA and ARA will remain in effect until such time as KS Global Strategies and Salama demonstrate to the satisfaction of NFA that they are in complete compliance with all NFA Requirements, including complete compliance with NFA Compliance Rule 2-45. KS Global Strategies and Salama may request a hearing before NFA's Hearing Committee.

The complete text of the MRA/ARA is available on NFA's website (www.nfa.futures.org).

The following Compliance staff members are responsible for this case: James Forst (312-781-1315) and LeeAnn Reider (312-781-1553).